Australian Antarctic Division: Leading Australia’s Antarctic Program

Solar eclipse

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This week at Casey: 2 May 2014

We may have missed the lunar eclipse a few weeks ago due to cloud, but this week at Casey we were lucky enough to witness a partial solar eclipse, where the moon spectacularly covered a large portion of the sun.

With the aid of thick tinted welders' glass and solar filters, were were easily able to see and photograph this rare event - the only solar eclipse for 2014.

This eclipse was to be an annual event which is where the moon, being at its furthermost from Earth (in apogee), appears smaller and doesn't cover the sun completely, leaving a 'ring of fire' around its rim.

Casey, not being completely within the path of annularity (within the moon's antumbral shadow) we saw the maximum of the eclipse as a thin sickle that moved gradually around the disc of the sun for several minutes as shown in the image below.

While the day did not turn to night altogether, the reduction in light along with the thin cloud cover and multiple cloud layers on the horizon, gave the surrounding icebergs and snow-covered terrain an eerie glow in the half-light.

It is no wonder that early man saw this phenomenon as a portent sent from the gods.